Starting strip



L. P. TIERNAN STARTING STRIP Oct. 14, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 42 Filed Feb.4. 1954 W1' Musi M Patented Oct. 14, 1958 hice STARTING STRIP LawrenceI. Tiernan, Perry, Iowa Application February 4, 1954, Serial No. 408,062

2 Claims. (Cl. 108-26) `My invention relates to starting strips forroofs and is a continuation in part of my co-pending application filedOctober 3l, 1949, Serial No. 124,704.

One of the important objects of this invention is to provide a startingstrip for a shingled roof which may be employed effectively for eithernew or old construction at the eave line and also along the side edges.

Another object of this invention is to provide a starting strip,preferably of metal, to eliminate the starting row of wood shingles inroof construction and thereby provide an eave line structure which isnot subject to deterioration or rotting.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a starting strip ofthe above class which presents a rigid eave line on roof construction towithstand pressure of ladders and which has a depending flange or bentportion adapted to direct rain water away from the roof so that itcannot seep back under the shingles at the eave.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a startingstrip for roof construction as described above which has the free end ofthe flange portion bent so as to be U shape in cross section to admit ofthe free circulation of Iair on all sides thereof for the purpose ofeliminating the formation of icicles.

These and other `objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combinationof the various parts of the device,

whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fullyset forth, specifically pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a roof illustrating my newstarting strip in place along the eave line and at the side edge thereofon a pitched roof,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a length of my new starting strip,

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. l,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the back or underside of twoadjacent strip portions to illustrate the arrangement for overlappingand locking the respective lengths together in endwise alignment, and

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of a flat roof to illustrate the use ofmy starting strip thereon.

Referring to the drawings the illustration in Fig. 2 shows a preferredembodiment of this invention designated generally by the numeral 10. Itconsists of an elongated ilat rectangular body member 12 having onelongitudinal edge portion bent downwardly at less than a right angle toform the ange 14 with the free end of flange 14 bent back and under themain ange portion and spaced therefromto form a channel 16 that isU-shaped in cross section throughout its length. Preferably I havefabricated these strips of sheet metal but it will be understood thatother suitable materials such as plastic and the like may also be used.Also I have found that four or five inches is suicient for the width ofportion 12 and that ten feet for the length thereof provides a desirablesize commercially. However, these` dimensions are lnot intended to becritical and other measurements may be adopted without departing fromthe principle of this invention.

To illustrate the manner of yapplying strip 10 to a roof structurereference is had particularly to Fig. 3 where the numeral 18 designatesa portion of a building carrying the rafters 20 for receiving a shingledroof 22. It should also be noted that while the roof line in Fig. 3 ispitched, this strip 10 can also be applied to a llat roof (Fig. 5) aswill be described.

In new construction, my strip 10 is applied directly to the roofsheathing at the eave line 24 in place of the usual starting row ofwooden shingles and in old construction or repair work, this strip isalso applied at the eave line 24 and may be either over the old shinglesalready in place or the first row or two of old shingles can be removed,the strip 1t) installed, and the old shingles replaced. ln placing thestrip 10, the major porti-on of body 12 lays on the sheathing with arelative small portion adjacent lange 14 protruding outwardly from theeave 24 and in the same plane as the roof line. Flange 14 will thusdepend downwardly and outwardly in spaced relationship to the eave line24 and will terminate in space as shown without any special braces orbrackets extending `thereto from any of the building structure. Thus,fiange 14 presents an outwardly and downwardly angled surface thatdirects water away from the eave line so that it cannot find its wayback under the shingles. Channel 1o having a rounded bottom edge andbeing spaced from the main flange 14 permits the free circulation of airtherethrough and experience has demonstrated that keeping this dependingportion of strip 10 at a uniform temperature eliminates the formation oficicles thereon. It will also be appreciated that this strip 10 will notinterfere with the use of the customary gutter or spouting but isactually particularly adapted for use therewith as it terminates at apoint and in a position to direct the flow or drip of water directlytherein. With strip 10 placed as described, the shingles 22 are appliedin their customary manner upon the strip and as observed in the drawingsthe starting row of shingles 22 covers that part of body 12 whichprotrudes from the eave line 24 and preferably overhangs slightly thetop of flange 14 though it may also be flush with the top of the liange.In this way, the edge of the roof dened by the outer shingle line 26 issufficiently removed from the eave line 24 so as to virtually eliminateany possibility of water returning to the roof structure beneath theshingles.

These starting strips liti as shown in Fig. 2 can, of course, `be laidin one piece across the eave line of a roof but for practical purposesin shipping and handling reasonable size lengths are more desirable andas mentioned above I preferably make them in ten foot sections. Becauseof this it will be obvious that several lengths may have to be employedover a given area and to provide for a watertight connecting means Ihave made a slip joint means as illustrated in Fig. 4. Here it will benoted that at the end portion of each strip section or unit, a part ofthe bent under portion from ange 14 forming the inner side of channel 16has been removed as at 28 so that in effect channel 16 terminates shortof the length of flange 14 at one end of each ten foot section. Thebottom edge 30 of ange 14- is tapered upwardly from point 32 wherechannel 16 ends to its nearest edge 34 which has a width less than themain flange 14 and serves as a projection or extension member 36 whichis slidably frictionally received by channel 16 of an adjacent strip 19in a slip fit condition as illustrated in Fig. 4. In this way, there isan overlapping of body portions 12 on adjacent strips and channel edges38 and 40 as shown in Fig. 4 will abut each other to form an effectivejoint. The tapering of edge 30 may be eliminated but when presenteliminates a sharp corner at the lower surface of the ange.

With reference now to Fig. l, l wish to point out that I have used stripalong the side pitched or gabled edges of the roof as well as along thehorizontal eave line and this aids materially in protecting the sideedges against deterioration in the same manner as described above.

It is submitted that the invention shown and described is aptly suitedto achieve the purposes intended and is characterized by a combinationof highly useful and mutually cooperating elements that combine theirrespective and proportionate functions in accomplishing the objectssought to be obtained.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of mystarting strip without departing from the real spirit and purpose of myinvention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modifiedforms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may bereasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. A starting strip for a shingled roof, comprising an elongated flatbody portion, a flange along one longitudinal side thereof extendingdownwardly yand outwardly from said body portion, the free end portionof said flange bent upwardly and inwardly to form a channel that isU-shaped in cross section, said channel terminating short of one end ofsaid flange to form a projecting member designed to effect a slip jointconnection withina like channel on an adjacent starting strip, and aninclined edge extending from' the end of said channel upwardly to theouter end of said ange.

2. A starting strip for a shingled roof, comprising an elongated flatbody portion, a flange along one longitudinal side thereof extendingdownwardly and outwardly from said body portion, the free end portion ofsaid flange bent inwardly and upwardly to form a channel that isU-shaped in cross section, said channel terminating short of one end ofsaid flange to form a projecting member, an inclined edge extending fromthe end of said channel upwardly to the outer end of said ange, saidstrip as defined adapted for endwise connection to like strips whereinsaid projecting member on one strip effects a slip joint connectionwithin one end of the channel on an adjacent strip and the channel endadjacent said projecting member is adapted for abutting engagement witha channel end on the adjacent strip.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 667,821Fingles Feb. 12, 1901 1,318,125 Zimbelmann Oct. 7, 1919 1,336,118 WrightApr. 6, 1920 1,427,412 Petersen Aug. 29, 1922 1,585,468 Covell May 18,1926 2,112,229 Davis Mar. 29, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 39,485 Austria of1909 123,253 Austria of 1931 113,465 Sweden of 1945

